Confectionery

Neogen® recognizes the diversity of the confectionery industry and the resulting differences between the industry sectors when it comes to food safety. For confectionery products, including chocolate and sweet confectionery, Neogen offers test kits that assist manufacturers with HACCP planning and quality assurance.

The increased demand by consumers in recent years for healthier products has also affected the confectionery industry. Recipes have seen changes including the higher demand for dark chocolate. Accordingly, the food safety testing needs for the products have changed as well and Neogen offers a variety of testing solutions to meet the changing demands of the confectionery industry.

Solutions

While allergen testing is important in all food production, within the confectionery industry it is especially important for chocolate manufacturers. In this sector, many opportunities arise for unwanted allergen contamination.

Neogen’s allergen testing kits can help detect undeclared allergens in raw materials as well as allergens that are unintentionally added during the production processes or during storage.

Neogen’s food allergen test kits can detect nuts and milk among others. Neogen also offers rapid food allergen tests that can tell the manufacturers in a short time, if an unwanted allergen in present in the chocolate.

For food manufacturers within the confectionery industry it is of great importance to create and monitor stringent sanitation guidelines. Neogen offers the first AOAC approved ATP testing system, AccuPoint® Advanced, which can help manufacturers validate their cleaning methods. It also assists with the monitoring of a cleaning plan created according to HACCP guidelines. The AccuPoint Advanced Sanitiation Verification System from Neogen also allows manufactures to test the cleanliness of their production equipment and facility and approval from the AOAC Research Institute confirms that AccuPoint Advanced performs according to documented claims and provides increased confidence and method reproducibility information.

Neogen understands that a large quantity of the ingredients used by chocolate manufacturers to create their products are raw materials, such as cocoa beans and almonds, which increases the risk for Salmonella and E. coli contamination. Neogen Culture Media offers a wide range of culture media products to help support the confectionery industry's needs.

If you would like to know more about the Neogen Culture Media transition please visit our Culture Media page.

Mycotoxins are an ongoing threat in the confectionery industry which needs monitoring as chocolate and sweet confectionery can be affected. Neogen recognizes the different food safety testing needs of each industry sector and offers quantitative and qualitative tests for a wide range of mycotoxins so manufacturers within the confectionery industry can ensure their compliance with legislative levels.

Ingredients that are used in chocolate production, such as almonds, can be affected by aflatoxin or ochratoxin A. Neogen’s testing kits can help ensure ingredients are not delivered containing mycotoxins or that mycotoxins have not grown during the storage of the product.

Because of its ease of use and clarity of result, many companies prefer to utilize our self-contained protein detection tests for their sanitation monitoring programs. AccuClean® Advanced is intended to be used as a simple method to determine the cleanliness of food contact surfaces and equipment. AccuClean Advanced is housed in a fully self-contained cartridge that once activated, changes color to indicate the relative level of protein detected on a sampled surface.

After 10 seconds, the solution is compared to a color comparison chart for interpretation. If no protein is detected, the solution in the bottom of the cup will remain copper-colored to indicate the surface is clean. A color change to gray indicates low level protein has been detected, while a change to green/blue or blue indicates a higher level of protein detected.